malefactor

noun

mal·​e·​fac·​tor ˈma-lə-ˌfak-tər 

1

: one who commits an offense against the law

especially : felon

He favors harsh punishment for chronic malefactors.

2

: one who does ill toward another

Yet his poetry can be bitterly detailed at times, with the names of his personal malefactors spelled out.

—Bruce Morgan

Synonyms of malefactor

• criminal
• offender
• wrongdoer
• sinner
• villain

Examples of malefactor in a Sentence

she regards anyone who would cause the breakup of a family as a malefactor of the worst sort

the victim was able to give a clear description of the malefactor to the police

Recent Examples on the Web

The Sea of Excrement, with its bobbing malefactors, is especially memorable. —New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025

On social media, Tan was pugilistic to the point of belligerence, casting his political enemies as corrupt malefactors responsible for the despoliation of his beloved city. —Literary Hub, 15 Oct. 2025

Some malefactors even hire out farms of humans to defeat them in bulk. CAPTCHAs also have unexpected benefits for those who run them. —ArsTechnica, 28 July 2025

Its victims, malefactors, and investigators are largely without personality, their function being merely to leave or follow trails, and to wear out a reader with anticlimax after anticlimax. —Thomas Mallon, New Yorker, 30 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English malefactour, from Latin malefactor, from malefacere to do evil, from male + facere to do — more at do

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for malefactor

• benefactor
• chiropractor
• multifactor
• subcontractor
• acter
• actor
• factor
• tractor
• attractor
• cofactor
• compactor
• contactor

Kids Definition

malefactor

noun

male·​fac·​tor

ˈmal-ə-ˌfak-tər

1

: one who is guilty of a crime or offense

2

: one who does evil